London Family Week in Review- Part 2

The weekend called for some serious sightseeing (being that I had to work during the week and wouldn't be able to play "tour guide" then). And can I just say, my hat goes off to those tour guides that are really good at their jobs! I was soon to find out that you really need to know your stuff, almost having an internal map, to be a guide. Plus, I have a confession. There was more than a couple occasions when I led my family to a totally different destination then was intended. Hopefully, I played it cool and like my dad always says, "getting lost helps you get to know the area better!" Thanks for that tip dad!

Saturday morning: off to Portabello Road. A huge street fair/market selling everything from antiques, to fresh produce and flowers, to leather handbags to cheap flea-market type items. At first, I wondered if this was the right choice for technically our first London sight (being that it was so crowded and it was starting to rain.) But lo and behold. I was saved. We found the food! Fresh doughnuts, breads and pastries. Paella simmering in huge frying pans. Real German Bratwursts. Fruit and vegetable stands everywhere. And so, we ate our way through the rest of the market before heading to the next memorable sight: the Whispering Gallery of St. Paul's Cathedral.
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There she sat, playing "keeper of the backpacks." Dad, Nicole, John and I had decided to climb to the top of St. Paul's to view the city from above the city's rooftops. Back in the Whispering Gallery, mom patiently waited. Then she heard them. Voices. Whispers. But where were they coming from? Down below in the Cathedral? No. From behind the wall? No. And then looking around the gallery, she realized that the whispers were travelling AROUND the dome of the gallery. It was the coolest thing. If someone was standing on the other side of gallery, and he/she whispered softly against the completely cylindrical wall, you could hear their voices clear as day. Maybe you had to be there, but trust me, it was the coolest thing. When we returned from our climb, mom explained her discovery. It didn't take Dad long before he tried it out. "Free beer in the lobby," he whispered. Yes, that's dad for you. Talking about beer at church. Oh, how we love his corny sense of humor.

The rest of the night was spent, yes, eating and drinking. We found a pub, "The Mulberry Bush" off the beaten path and mom and John enjoyed another good english meal: Steak and Ale Pie. For the remainder of the week, mom couldn't stop talking about how impressed she was by the food in England. Especially the fish and chips and pie! Food. Gotta love it!